History of Conception of Childhood

Antique practice of infanticide

10

Ever since we have record history, the little parts we know about the treatment and views on children prove that there were very high rates of infanticide. In fact, in such harsh conditions of death or survival, the upbringing of children was seen as something too tedious and anxiety inducing thus parents just preferred to kill most of their children (sometimes eat them or using them as sacrifices).

Greek and Roman sexualization of children

400

Sexual abuse of children during the Greek and Roman era were really common, especially those involving men using younger boys. Culturally it was thought that this was a way to bond and transmit knowledge. However prostitution and general abuse of children of any age or gender was pretty common no matter if it was seen ok or not

Middle age children

1300

During the middle age parents began understanding the importance of upbringing chidren however they were to bothered to care about it and children were sent to nursaries, monasteries, to even workplaces or simply other families. Childhood was just seen as a step before adulthood and a way to secure offspring and future generations. Parents used drastic methods that would make them prepare for adulthood and completely saw childhood as just an obstacle.

Locke´s tabula rasa on children

1693

John Locke believed that all children were born the same with their minds as a blank state he called "tabula rasa". The development of humans is a result of their environment. He then proposed gentler ways of treating children and an earlier education to exploit the capacities of the human brain from the younger ages

Illustration and the new thoughts about childhood

1700

In the XVIII century the appeareance of new schools of thought brought to discussion the importance of childhood and also of human development as a whole. Because of this, many philosophers, anthropologies and sociologies started investigating more about what childhood is and how it influences in people in their future lifes.

Industrial revolution changes on society

1800

With the industralization of the economics, politics and society itself many of the changes on the conception of childhood that happened during the illustration were set back. The big demand for workers in facturies and the need to kill oneself working to be able to survive in the big cities, made it so that children were forced to work just as their adult counterparts. Infanticide also increased since parents feared of having children in such precarious conditions.

UN convention on the rights of the child

1989

It´s an international treaty that set the definition of childhood as any person younger than or 18 years old. This trety also ratified those rights that every children should be able to enjoy in order to have an integral life and become into good people as adults. It denunces topics such as child labor, child sexualization and child abuse.

Contemporany conception of childhood

2022

Nowadays as of 2022, thanks to the progress in international law and treaties, children are a protected group worldwide. Childhood is now recognized as an essential part of human development and also the importance of parents treatment of their children and how they educate them will affect them later on their life.